A few days ago, I tied up a size 8 bead head pink salmon fly that did well for me during the last pink salmon run in Washington. I trolled it using an intermediate line and caught several trout in short order!

I must confess that I have always been a little skeptical that the color and pattern of a fly matters a whole lot when fishing for trout. A few days ago I decided to do some experimenting while I was fishing for trout on a local lake. After successfully catching a bunch of fish using traditional trout flies like wooly buggers and leech patterns, I decided to use some of my bright flies traditionally used for salmon and salt water fish.

I tied up a size 6 pink and white deep clouser minnow and trolled it behind an intermediate line. Bingo! Despite the fact that no creatures in the lake look anything like a pink and white clouser minnow, the trout went for this gaudy fly pattern! This reinforces my belief that the most important characteristic of a fly is its motion in the water rather than its color or pattern. Do others think otherwise?